Red Cloud is on a three-game streak of home wins, while Pawnee City is on a seven-game streak of away wins (dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The Red Cloud Warriors will welcome the Pawnee City Indians at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Friday, Red Cloud was fully in charge, breezing past Dorchester 60-8 on the road. Given the Warriors' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska football rankings (they are ranked 18th, while the Longhorns are ranked 128th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Hunter Englehart, who rushed for 87 yards and three touchdowns on only five carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Red Cloud was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 257 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 207 rushing yards in seven consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Pawnee City). They claimed a resounding 75-7 victory over Diller-Odell at home. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 64-0.
Anthony Kling had a dynamite game for Pawnee City, picking up 47 receiving yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 32 yards and a touchdown. Kling also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, forcing a fumble and making five total tackles in addition to snagging an interception.
Pawnee City wouldn't let Diller-Odell keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Pawnee City can thank Kling and Jesse Mclaughlin for forcing both of them.
Red Cloud's win bumped their record up to 7-0. As for Pawnee City, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 7-0.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Red Cloud has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 287.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Pawnee City struggles in that department as they've been averaging 287.6. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Red Cloud was dealt a bruising 58-22 defeat at the hands of Pawnee City in their previous matchup back in September of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Kling, who rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.7 yards per carry, and also threw for 30 yards and two touchdowns. Now that Red Cloud knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
